Samantha Nutt

Samantha Nutt is an award-winning humanitarian, bestselling author and acclaimed public speaker. A medical doctor and a founder of the renowned international humanitarian organization War Child, Nutt has worked with children and their families at the frontline of many of the world's major crises — from Iraq to Afghanistan, Somalia to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone to Darfur, Sudan. A leading authority on current affairs, war, international aid and foreign policy, Nutt is one of the most intrepid and recognized voices in the humanitarian arena and is among the most sought-after public speakers in North America. With a career that has spanned more than two decades and a dozen of conflict zones, her international work has benefitted hundreds of thousands of war-affected children globally.

Nutt is a respected authority for many of North America's leading media outlets. She is a regular foreign affairs panelist on the acclaimed news program CBC TV News “The National” with Peter Mansbridge. Nutt's written work has been published by The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Maclean's Magazine, Reuters, The Ottawa Citizen and The Huffington Post, among many others, and she has appeared in Times Magazine, Chatelaine Magazine, More Magazine and on “CTV National News,” “Global TV News,” “NBC Nightly News” and the “BBC World Service,” to just name a few.

Nutt's critically-acclaimed debut book, “Damned Nations: Greed Armies and Aid,” was released by McClelland and Stewart Ltd. (a division of Random House) in October 2011 and was a number one national bestseller in both hardcover and paperback. Lewis Lapham declared it a “brave and necessary book,” while the Literary Review of Canada called it a “brilliant polemic.” “Damned Nations” is a bracing and uncompromising account of Nutt's work in some of the most devastated regions of the world.

Nutt was named of Canada's “25 Transformational Canadians” by The Globe and Mail, and has been recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Time Magazine has featured her as one of Canada's “Five Leading Activists.” In July 2011, Nutt was appointed to the Order of Canada, Canad's highest civilian honor, for her contributions to improving the plight of young people in the world's worst conflict zones.

Nutt graduated summa cum laude from McMaster University, earned a Master of Sciences in public health with distinction from University of London and holds a Fellowship in Community Medicine (FRCPC) from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. She is further certified by the College of Family Practice and completed a sub specialization in women's health through the University of Toronto as a Women's Health Scholar. Nutt is the recipient of numerous honorary doctorates from universities in Canada and the U.S.

Nutt is a staff physician at Women's College Hospital in Toronto and is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. She is the founder of War Child Canada and U.S., is a senior fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto and is on the board of the David Suzuki Foundation.